Every Cactuar Counts
by SanctumAsylum
Summary: Relationships have never been easy. With sharp edges, turns and bumps: the road to salvation can be a long one. But every inch gained is another inch earned. And every inch counts. Now a series of one-shots. Ratings may vary.
1. Every Cactuar Counts

**A/N:** **Updated: I've been writing a lot of FFXIII stories that aren't going anywhere so I can't decide if I should trash 'em or post 'em. But since it saddens me to part with them, I might just continue updating Every Cactuar Counts as a series of One-shots and Drabbles. Again, this is a temporary/spur of the moment decision. There is a slight chance I won't go through with this.

Again and as always: Read, REVIEW, Enjoy and always roll down your windows when someone poots in the car. It can be deadly.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Squeenix or any of its awesomeness...not even in my dreams...

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Every Cactuar Counts

Common sense could tell you it's never wise to pick a fight with someone (and/or something) smaller than you; which is why Snow got a particularly low score when it came to the department of common sense. It didn't matter how many times anyone bashed the guy in the head (as Fang learned the hard way) stupidity was hard-wired in to his DNA.

That's why when it came to this little episode on the Archylte Steppe, Lightning just stopped wondering and instinctively brought out her saber. The oaf had no idea what he was stirring up.

"Yeah, baby!" He yelled, punching the air dynamically as he gave Lightning his cheese-smile. "You see that little-guy trying to intimidate me? Dunno what he was thinking, but I'd say he learned his lesson, wouldn't you?" Language translation session- 'little-guy': Cactuar; a small, but easily defensive creature living on Gran Pulse. They weren't much of a threat in small numbers.

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge if I were you." Fang replied, head scaling all around for a complete view of her surroundings. "Little creatures on Gran Pulse can turn in to big problems."

"They're not _that_ threatening, are they?" Hope asked, eyes searching Lightning's for an answer. The stoic woman simply shrugged and kept her mouth closed. She didn't doubt anything on Pulse. This was new territory to any citizen of Cocoon. They were like a boat swimming in uncharted seas.

"I don't care how small they are." Sazh began "I don't like those things. I don't like those things at all. And since when did cactus acquire legs, arms and a face that looks like they've been permanently scarred for life? They just pop out of the ground looking like that?"

"They have their own little tribe just like we do." Vanille giggled, shooing the other cactuars into hiding. She wanted them to get away before Snow could recklessly get a hold of them. "If they didn't go back home, someone could get worried."

Hope smiled. "I guess that makes sense...but where exactly do they live?"

Fang shrugged. "Don't know. Never found out too much about those besides a few instincts and characteristics. The tribe figured as long as they left us alone, we had good enough reason to leave them alone as well. Ya know: respecting the earth and all that."

"I say we catch one and interrogate it." Snow grinned, crouching low for stealth.

Lightning rolled her eyes "Cactuar are _small_, not _blind_."

"Everything can be snuck up on." Snow winked "It's all in the skill."

"Yeah, good luck trying to sneak up on a creature that can feel the vibrations in the earth as you step." Fang teased him with her lance, poking his shoulder hard in the back "You'll be lucky if it _is_ blind."

Snow pumped his fist in the air, signaling his intent as he scurried across the planes and to mountain covered ridges where access to green, hopping cactus-things might be bountiful. Needless to say: they weren't. The nearest cactuar was a lonesome one, dancing out in the wide-open space just waiting for some mishap to come along; though it probably never imagined a big, blonde doofus with a beanie on his head to be said mishap.

"You think he'll catch it?" Hope asked, watching intently as Snow tripped and tried to quickly regain his balance. He threw a thumbs-up back at the group before heading onward.

Lightning rolled her eyes. "There's no doubt he's going to try."

"Uhm…what if he gets hurt?" Vanille twiddled her fingers, nervous for Snow's well-being just as much as the small creatures.

"Probably _needs_ to get hurt." Sazh replied "At least he's not trying to capture one of those things, right?" He smiled, pointing deftly to the adamantoise causing quakes as it walked near them, but paid them no mind.

"Don't jinx it." Lighting quipped. "Put the idea in to his mind and he'll go for it."

"Relax." Fang placed her hand on Vanille's shoulder and moved forward "If he gets in to trouble, we'll bail him out, right Vanille?"

"Uh…Right!" she giggled. While she doubted the initial offer, it was Fang asking her for back-up. There was no way Vanille would refuse that. Besides, who knew Gran Pulse better than Vanille and Fang. Currently: no one.

"Oh no…" Sazh shook his head. It was bad enough that they had one kid pulling stupid stunts to begin with. He didn't need to see more mixed in the equation. "If you two are going, I'm going too. You need someone with experience."

With her brow raised, Fang smirked. Experience, huh? "You mean like six-hundred and sixty-six years of experience?"

"That doesn't count. You slept those years." Popping out of Sazh's massive fro the baby chocobo squeaked in agreement.

"Alright, alright I get it." Fang sighed "No arguing with the mascot."

Another squeak and death-glare later the chocobo was diving back in to his nest.

"Knock it off." Lightning unsheathed her saber "If the idiot gets in to trouble, we'll all go help him out."

_If_. She thought sourly. They all _knew_ he was going to get in trouble. Why they all were annotating_ if_ before the prediction was beyond her. Why _she _used it even baffled her. Lightning knew well enough of Snow to understand his stupid decisions would end up in chaos. Like with Hope. She glanced up at the awkward boy swaying back and forth, getting teased by Fang and defended by Vanille.

Unknowingly Snow had stroked the flames to a fire. He never decided to think _once_ before acting, never took a moment to consider his actions and how they might hurt others. Yet somehow, that quality about him…was the same quality that saved him in the end.

To an extent Lightning envied him. But she'd never admit that.

"Don't look now, but Snow's already causing problems." Sazh snapped Lightning out of her trance as she immediately switched her gaze to Snow.

As loud and obnoxious as that man could be, he must've been downright silent at this point. He had managed to legitimately "sneak" up on the cactuar without the thing even noticing. The big footed, loud-mouthed idiot had actually made it. Lightning cringed. She still couldn't help, but think there was going to be some kind of screw up. Hand on hilt; she forced herself to remain where she stood. Her instincts told her something was going to go wrong, but her head told her to remain calm and be still. Lightning couldn't find her in between because (dare she say it?) she was worried.

And that's when it happened.

Not risking the chance of the cactuar being able to feel his foot-falls, Snow launched himself across the steppe, a battle-cry escaping his mouth as he came down upon the unsuspecting creature. The cactuar squeaked and popped up, making miles of his escape before Snow could catch him. Landing with a thud, Snow growled and took off after the now taunting cactuar. It was easy to tell the thing was baiting him because, as dense as Snow could be, even _he knew_ the only person that made their signature move a punch to the palm, was Snow.

The cactuar hopped, seemingly giggled and punched its palm again before continuing its dance. To add salt to the wound, it remained in the same spot while it danced. Showing just exactly how much of a threat it thought Snow to be.

"Aw, now you've done it you green pin-cushion." he growled, running straight to it and following his first method. At least, the jumping and diving part. And with nowhere left to run Snow's massive hands came crashing down around the cactuar. Snow huffed, laughed, squeezed his prey tight and stood. It even surprised him that he was able to capture the cactuar successfully without any _major_ problems. He supposed this proved he was more reliable than his soon-to-be sister-in-law gave him credit for.

Lightning though, was thinking that was _way_ too easy for him to be in the clear.

With a wide-grin plastering his face, Snow ran back to the group with prize in tow. Catching a cactuar had to be worth bragging rights of which he was going to quickly make use of. But before any of that he'd get Lightning to admit he was the right guy for Serah. And that he was awesome. Like icing on a cake. Yeah, he could hear it now. "Snow, you're...amazing! Maybe I was wrong about you. You and Serah...have my blessings."

Suddenly he felt movement between his arm and chest as if the thing was wiggling a dance in his arms, causing his thoughts to drift away from victory and overly-dramatized, false quotes. Snow might have laughed if he hadn't heard the thing give a muffled squeak from behind his chokehold. Next thing he knew, he was on the floor gripping his chest and arms in searing pain, watching dismally as his prey leapt on his face and took off running.

"Ouch." He uttered, craning his head toward the group. After all, they saw the entire charade. From the battle-cry, to the taunting, to the capture and finally to the cactuar making Snow his _own_ personal pin-cushion.

Lightning, the first to be on the scene, was running towards him, a lecture on the brink of her lips. It was times like these that made her wonder about the hypothetical question soldiers used to ask her on the field: 'If you had only one bullet and you were stuck on Gran Pulse...what would you use your last shot on?' Her logical answer would have been: dinner or in other terms: a pulse creature that she'd cook and eventually carve a knife out of from its bones. But now that she was on Gran Pulse, with a little more than just one bullet in her gun-blade, her answer had changed. If I had one bullet and the conscience to boot, I'd shoot Snow, she thought resolutely as she crouched down next to him.

Snow grinned at her, but it was forced and the pain burning in his chest was sharp. So maybe he _was_ in pain…and perhaps the cactuar _did_ get away, but he still owned the bragging rights to being the first person to "catch" a cactuar…right?

"Don't even _think_ about bragging…" Lightning pushed the golden locks from his face as she examined the damage.

"Heh…how'd ya know?"

Simply lifting her brow as her answer, Lightning lowered her eyes to his chest and arms. He had obviously scared the poor thing to death. She was surprised enough to see Snow hadn't frightened anything besides needles out of it. Given the circumstances, he was lucky enough that the cactuar he decidedly chose was a small one that he held _below_ his heart. Though she didn't believe the needles could pierce that far, she wasn't completely sure since she didn't have prior run-ins with them herself.

"Looks like he didn't damage anything besides the obvious…" she paused "Sore arm, sore chest…bruised ego…"

"We'll help!" Hope ran up with Vanille close behind. Both kids crouched on the ground next to Snow and began healing his wounds. Specifically: Hope extracted the needles while Vanille cast cure on the open, freshly plucked wound thereafter.

"He _really_ is an idiot…" Lightning grumbled, standing up and backing away.

"Yea…but he had you on the tips of your toes, didn't he?" Fang smirked. Lightning remained silent, slightly distancing herself from Fang. A hardly noticeable movement and perhaps if Fang was simply another citizen of Cocoon, she may not have noticed. But Lightning wasn't lucky enough to be stuck talking to an unperceptive individual. "Just admit it. You were worried…"

"Fat chance."

The pulsian raised her brow "That you'll admit it or that you were worried?"

"Maybe both...maybe neither. I guess you'll never know." And with that said, Lightning flung her arm downward, the saber slinging back into its small form as she shoved it back in its holster and became official supervisor and overseer of the medical operation.

Fang smirked. "She was _so_ worried."


	2. Gilded Differences

A/N: **UPDATE**- Now a series of one-shots for the specifics of SnowxLightning. I apologize for changing this around so much, but I've just been recently trying to get things sorted out and in to order (including life haha) so now I'm doing that. Fear not though HopexLightning fans! I'll be making "Feigning Ignorance" a separate one-shot as well as other random one-shots I've had stirrings of.

Thanks to all my reviewers and watchers (you know who you are), you are the ones that keep me writing!

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Gilded Differences; Even Greater Similarities

She wasn't mean. Not in the intentional sense, at least. Lightning could only hurt someone when she wasn't trying to. It was a fault, by all standards, but, surprisingly so, Snow actually liked that about her. She wasn't larger than life as she first made herself seem. No better than anyone else, Lightning had her own share of problems. Just as he had a fair share of his.

Sensing scrutinizing eyes raking her form, Lightning threw a glance over her shoulder; her dead-pan gaze meeting the opposing laughter in Snow's. Crystal eyes narrowed, but refrained from rolling or moving away. In the recent hours, she had warmed up considerably to him. Snow figured they were gaining some sort of progress if she controlled herself enough to _not_ punch him every time he decided to open his blundering mouth.

Snow grinned at her in absent return, giving his best smile for her attentions. Lightning rose her brow and for a moment he could've sworn he saw the tug of a smirk lighting up the side of her face, but her attention diverted in that second and was caught beneath the thumb of a teenage boy.

_Hm. I'm missing something here. _

After his capture, Snow learned little as to what the group had gone through, besides seeing Lightning defending Hope in Palumpolum, he had no other information of what had transpired between the two.

He, admittedly, thought Lightning would have abandoned the child upon first sight. It was the least to be saying that he was surprised when he found out the ex-soldier had taken the boy under her wing. There was no way Hope couldn't have been more than a burden when they first set out. For good measure, all Snow had seen him do was lag behind the group, stalk him with a glaring eye and timidly run away from fights.

Whatever happened between them certainly must have been something else because now Hope was eager to participate in battle and rarely did he allow Lightning to leave his sight.

She'd also hugged the boy.

_Damn, maybe I need some pointers from the kid. _

Snow averted his gaze to Hope, grinning and nonchalantly waving when those green, round eyes zoned in on his lumbering form. He caught the brief glare lurking in the back of those too-wide, child-like eyes of his, but Hope did a pretty good job at erasing the malice clean from his eyes in a blink and smiling back; even if the smile was weak and half-hearted at best. Snow's brow creased in confusion.

_What did I do now?_

Oblivious to most things, Snow knew there was a stark possibility he had offended the teenage boy without meaning to. It wasn't as though he had been absolved from doing so once already. Having unintentionally allowed that particular sore fester until it popped in one big, fiery explosion. Quite literally. He wouldn't make a muddle of things as he had the first time. Snow resolved on addressing the issue far before it got to the point of injury. He didn't need another bout of broken ribs. The painful reminder was all he needed to know what his ignorance could lead to.

Grunting, Snow began to lift off the ground, closing his eyes and pushing forward on to jelly-subsequent limbs until he was standing straight. Relaxed, he took his time stretching, cracking his back and sighing with relief. He proceeded to turn around and was going to talk to Hope when he ran in to what, at first, felt like a wall.

Considerably _soft_ for a wall.

"Woah!" He jumped back, hands up as though he'd been caught doing something remarkably stupid. And by the look on Lightning's face, it wasn't hard to feel that way. "Light...didn't see ya there." He looked back to the spot she had recently occupied, now currently vacant of both her and the boy he was looking for.

_Aw, just my luck_, he thought.

Hope was gone.

"You move awfully fast. Hope bore ya already?"

She scoffed, averting her gaze to her crossed elbows. "I sent him with Vanille and Fang to gather supplies for tonight. The extra battles will do him some good."

Snow cocked his head in astonishment. _So why come see me?_, he thought, refraining from vocalizing the pondering as he knew it would most likely only lead to Lightning leaving and for whatever reason, he didn't want her to part from his company when she had come to him of her own volition."And you didn't opt to go with them? Talk about the end of Cocoon." He jeered, expecting a fist to his face as he blocked any on-coming threat.

But nothing came.

Lightning briefly pierced him with her sharp gaze and then stalked away. Nothing else.

Well, now he _had_ to follow. Lightning _not_ taking the open invitation to hit him was enough cause for concern.

He jogged after her, reaching her marching form with ease. Proceeding to slow down, Snow fixed his stride to keep in step just a few paces behind so that she still retained a sense of 'space'."What's up? I don't even get a love-tap for that comment?"

Almost as though it were a knee-jerk reaction, she shot him another glare, then wiped it away and paused in her demanding strides. Snow stopped with her, remaining a foot away as he watched her chest rise and fall with a sigh. Lightning reached up, her hand curling, near her heart, upon her chest. Staring forward, she replied "I figured I owed you enough to ignore it." Her hand fell and as quickly as she stopped she was back to marching on again.

_Wait. What does she 'owe' me for? _

"Hold up!" He called, running and catching her by the shoulder to spin her around. Lightning jostled her arm free, sending him a disapproving look that satisfied him more than if she would have simply let him do as he pleased. At least she was still Lightning. No impostor here; though he sincerely doubted the likelihood of that ever coming to fruition.

Lightning was one-of-kind, for sure.

"Why-?" He shook his head thinking the question over "What do you think you owe me for?"

"When I owe someone I don't just _'think'_ I do, I know I do."

Snow shrugged. She very obviously wasn't going to budge from her opinion. He sighed, letting the hand grasping his bandanna fall. "Then at least tell me why..."

Regarding him with heat in her eyes, Lightning tapped her foot in between the two of them with slight impatience. Her eyes darted here, there, the crystalline liquid drops met with anything and everything except for the blue of his own eyes. She didn't want to willingly give away her motives for using him, her reluctance featured in the fidgeting mess she seemed to become. Still, Snow wouldn't exactly call it fidgeting. He supposed it could be considered such, but what Lightning was doing was a milder form. Her leg shook very slightly with the tap, tap, tapping of her foot on the planet's surface, her hands clenching and releasing her bicep in rhythmic barely notable motions and finally the corner of her bottom lip crunched between teeth before she freed the skin, tongue darting out in apology.

On a sigh, she decided to meet his gaze, answering rather guiltily "I used you to get rid of Hope."

At the sentence, Snow's eyes flew open. "You..._used_ me?"

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. His lack of comprehension must have astounded her...if not just plain irritating her. "Yes."

"_You_. Used. _Me?_"

"I believe we've established that."

"How-? Why?" Snow gaped like a fish, trying to grasp why Lightning would_ ever_ use _him_ as a crutch. She hated him..._right?_

Lightning shoved a hand through her hair, her resolve teetering on revealing all. Probably figured she owed him an explanation since she found it reasonable to sully his good name. Snow internally laughed at that thought. If anyone even dared enough to drive his name in to the ground, it wouldn't be Light. He didn't see her giving a damn to, much less having the heart to do it knowingly.

After biting off a growling like gargling noise in the midst of its glory, Lightning relented "Hope hasn't left my side since we landed on Pulse. I wanted some space and the only way he would concede was if I had a potential bodyguard."

"Me."

"Precisely."

"I'm _your_ 'bodyguard'?"

She scoffed, the expression sounding more like a laugh rather than the cynical gesture it was supposed to be. Either she was tiring of this scene or she found it so ridiculous it was laughable; if not already having found it a little bit of both."You're skull is unbelievably thick."

Snow chuckled and rapped his head twice. "Solid as rock. This baby comes in handy when being a potential 'bodyguard'."

"Don't get a big head, '_hero'. _It was merely an excuse to get rid of Hope and seeing as it got the job done, I'll be on my way now."

A light decided to go off in Snow's head at that moment and finally everything made sense. "Wait a second! That's why Hope was glaring at me before he took off!"

Smiling slightly, Lightning patiently allowed Snow to finish drawing his slow conclusions. "And he-! And you-! And I don't-!"

"Done yet, genius?"

Latching a hand on to the bandanna atop his head, Snow shook his head and creased his brows as he completed the process of understanding Hope's displaced anger. He looked across at her, blue eyes meeting a similar kind. If their eyes were not law-binding siblings (in which they weren't, but he promised they would be), they could be distant cousins. Or lovers.

Suddenly, Snow threw his head back and laughed.

Glowing in the orange light of a real sun, Snow's laughter receded slowly. He shook his head, languorously approaching Lightning's stone stiff form and placing a warm palm on her shoulder. His eyes, as she was examining, were lined with the liquid of amused tears.

Snow softened his voice "You're something else, ya know that?"

All emotion left her pallid face; her eyes dry and her face resembling winter. Once again stowed away and masked, Lightning flicked back around and headed forward.

"Thanks for telling me the truth, Light."

She paused for a mere second. Her body freezing at the comment. In that second, Snow felt he saw a Lightning that few people rarely got to glimpse, including Serah. Somehow, she seemed more vulnerable with her face hidden, her back exposed. Although Snow would never call Lightning vulnerable, this was the closest he figured she ever got to the description; even _that_ being a stretch as it was.

Seeming as though the time-lapse hadn't ever occurred, Lightning shrugged, regaining her stride easily; her form shrinking in the distance as she went.

Snow grinned from ear to ear. He knew she was appreciative of the compliment he'd given her. He noticed that while Lightning wiped all the expressive emotion she could from her face, there was one place she couldn't. Snow knew this because he too was plagued with the same problem.

Serah had once pointed it out to him and called it 'adorable'. Perhaps that's why it was so obvious to him. He doubted anyone else knowing this particular detail about Lightning. He doubted Lightning knowing this particular detail about herself.

Feeling smug at his endeavor, Snow whipped around and then remembered: he had a part to play. Immediately turning back around, Snow ran as fast as he could to catch up to his comrade.

"Hey! Wait up! You forgot your bodyguard!"

She yelled back monotonously "No. I didn't."

"Then I forgot mine! Come back!"

Lightning growled and discretely rubbed her head as she attempted to ignore him, he feet continuing their rhythmic steps.

As cold as Light could be...she wasn't mean. Not in the intentional sense, at least. Light could only hurt someone when she wasn't trying to.

And while she masked the emotions on her face to hide her feelings, one could always tell what she truly thought by the blush that rose in her ears.


End file.
